BEAUTIFUL HAYLEE...

Oh how I love this girl...Her sweet aunt April took these adorable pics of her for her first birthday! Aren't they great??? I figured these sweet pics were a great setting to write the sentimental post about how grateful I am for little Haylee. She honestly is EVERYTHING I wanted in a child (so far!). She is just a genuinely happy baby and loves everyone! She is very social and outgoing. We honestly have never had her cry when we leave her with someone. The girls at the gym daycare love her and get so excited when she shows up! The one trait she has that I love, but also know I will struggle with the most, is her strong independent streak. This girl knows what she wants and when she wants it! And I know exactly where she got that trait! I love the little quirky things she does like turning her right ankle in a circle when her feet are dangling from her high chair, car seat or Bumbo. Or the way she holds her little fingers together while she drinks her bottle. I love how she squeels with joy when one of us walks in the door if we've been gone. I LOVE her little kisses that she gives now! I love that she loves dogs--especially Buster! I love her little adorable birthmark on the lower right side of her back. I love how little and petite she is. I love that she has her Daddy's tan skin. I can already tell she will be a little daredevil and I LOVE that about her! She is not afraid of anything! And I love how so many people just love her and always want to hold her and babysit her. She truly is our little miracle girl and I couldn't be more grateful for her. People always ask how we got so lucky to have such a good kid--I always reply with, "If you wait long enough, you get a good one!" Happy first birthday, Haylee girl! We love you so much and couldn't be more grateful to have you in our little family.:)

***Thank you again, April for taking those wonderful pictures of Haylee! We so appreciate it--you are awesome!:)

ST. GEORGE TRIP...PART TWO--GOOD FRIENDS

While we were in St. George, we were able to get together with our good friends Brekk, T.J. and their awesome little guy, Cohen! They made the drive down from Orem. T.J. and I served on the mission together. After the triathlon on Saturday, we went over to Brekk's grandparents BEAUTIFUL home to watch BYU KILL Wyoming! We had a great time eating goodies and just catching up! We found out that our babies (Cohen is 8 months old) are a lot alike. Real happy babies who love everyone and love to play! In the pic above, T.J. is sitting in a chair that swivels so Haylee crawled over to him and they swiveled together, which she thought was just wonderful, as you can see! He'd put her down, but she'd eventually crawl back to him and they'd swivel together some more!
Is this a happy face or what??!! I wish we'd have gotten pic of their whole family, but it was one of those times where you're havin' too much fun to stop and take pics! Thanks for everything guys!

ST. GEORGE TRIP...PART ONE--TRIATHLON

We just got back from a trip to St. George for Cameron's second triathlon! It was convenient since I have family in St. George. This triathlon was a lot different than the Show Low triathlon--much harder, too! This was Cameron's first open water swim (in a lake) and the bike course included a huge hill and the run was pretty much on clay the entire course--he said it felt like running on the beach! That being said, Cameron only finished six minutes later than the Show Low triathlon! I am sooooo proud of him! He did amazing and had such a great attitude the whole time!
This was the only transition pic I was able to get since I was there alone and had Haylee with me. This was right after the swim as he was getting ready for the bike course. I asked if he got roughed up in the water by other swimmers (common in open water swims cuz they swim in a pack for a while). He said yes and that he vaguely recalls swimming over the top of someone! Good times! Cameron also said that the hill on the bike course was so major that some bikers actually got off and walked their bikes up the rest of the hill. Not Cameron! He stuck with it!
Here we are after the race! You can't see her, but I am holding a sleeping Haylee in my arms! She did so amazing out there! She was happy the entire time! So entertained just watching everyone--some people brought dogs, which made her REALLY happy! DISCLAIMER: There is a reason I currently look and will continue to look like crap in these triathlon pics! They schedule these things waaaaay too early in the morning! I ain't gonna take the time to get all gussied up to go sit in the sun for two hours that early in the morning!
And here is our happy Haylee on the way home from the race! You can't see it but she's wearing her shirt that says, "My dad is the man!" It makes us laugh that when she holds her books, it actually looks like she is reading them like an adult! And yes, she can read upside down as a matter of fact!:) She loves her new big girl carseat! It's probably a bit early to have her in it, but a seven hour car ride didn't sound too fun lookin' out the back window the whole way!

All in all, it was a great time at the race! Cameron did better than he thought he would and he felt great about it and more motivated to get better. I'm just so impressed with him and his devotion to this new adventure! He makes me so proud! One day we will do these things together!

WELCOME LITTLE ADDISON!

This little sweetie was born to my brother Russ and his wife Julie yesterday afternoon! They now have four children (two girls and two boys) and all their little ones were BEAUTIFUL babies! It's so nice when you go to see their babies for the first time and you don't have to worry about that awkward moment of it being a "not so cute" baby! And little Addison didn't disappoint! She is just gorgeous and perfect in every way. She has tons of black hair and perfect skin. Just beautiful...Congratulations Russ and Julie!

SEPTEMBER 11TH...MEMORIES

I honestly never thought I'd say the phrase, "I remember where I was when such and such happened..." in my lifetime. That always made me think of when people say they remember where they were when JFK was shot. But here I am saying it--I remember where I was on September 11, 2001. I had the crazy experience of being out of the country when it happened. I was serving my mission in the Dominican Republic. Cameron was also on his mission in Ohio. I remember walkin' around knockin' doors that morning with my companion Hermana Kami Morgan. We were in a tiny little alleyway when this OLD lady saw us and asked if we were Americans. We said yes and she replied with,"Your towers are falling!" Yeah, that made a whole lotta sense to us! It was only two months before I was to go home and I was thinkin',"Am I really not understanding spanish???" Anyway, we just smiled at her and kept walkin' until we passed a little home with the door open (very common there) and the tv on. We saw the towers burning so we stood there for a moment until the sweet family invited us in to watch. We just sat there shocked. When we went home for lunch, our wonderful neighbors came to invite us to watch the news on their tv in English. They were Dominican but had lived in the United States for a long time. It was the weirdest feeling ever watching that happen in your country when you weren't even there. It also affected many Dominicans in a big way because almost every Dominican you talk to has family or friends who live in New York. From what I heard that day, pretty much all phone lines were tied up from communication between New York and the Dominican Republic as people were trying to contact those they knew and loved in New York. When I finished my mission, my parents came down to the Dominican Republic to get me and to travel around the country. When we flew home, into Miami first, my parents had told me, "Just wait--there are American flags EVERYWHERE." Sure enough, as we landed, I saw a humungous American flag hanging, spread open, on the airport wall. I was so proud to be an American. I always have been, but maybe I took it a bit for granted. After living in a third world country, I was grateful just to come home to warm water and consistant electricity. But that day, I had a whole new appreciation for our country.

The other really neat thing I like to remember from that time is the first letter I received from Cameron after 9/11. I could tell from his words that it had really shaken his world. We always told each other we loved each other at the end of each letter, even from the beginning of the mission, just as friends. But around the middle of our missions, that phrase became much more true for both of us, although we never discussed our feelings for each other--respecting our callings as missionaries. But at the end of that letter, he wrote, "I love you Bethany." He'd never included my name in the phrase and it added so much more emotion after the rest of the letter. It was probably my favorite letter he ever sent. I love that I am able to remember those moments. Anyway, thanks for reading. Gotta love memories...God Bless America.:)